A Trial of Character
by WritingSpeaksLouder
Summary: After war.Draco Malfoy is being tried for his crimes during the war. His father is gone, and his mother is sick in Saint Mungo's. Draco himself has almost given up-until his past comes back, and help comes from the most unlikely of resources: Luna Lovegood, the girl who'd been locked in his basement and tortured by his aunt. What happened in the manor,and Draco's character revealed
1. Defense

It was ridiculous. All of it. He was pathetic, he knew that. He was getting what he deserved. Draco didn't want to go to Azkaban- he truly didn't. He was terrified. But what else did he have? His father was dead, and his mother was currently in Saint Mungo's without the slightest chance that she'd ever come out. There was nothing left for him. So why were they trying so hard?

* * *

The courtroom buzzed quietly. Papers were shuffled, names were muttered. A certain ex-Death-eater stood at the center, practically under a microscope in front of all of these people, some known, others unknown. He stood with his head bowed, his hands chained together and his messy, platinum-blonde hair covering his face. His body was thin beneath his slightly tattered suit—they'd let him keep it in the week that he'd been in Azkaban, but they hadn't been too kind about it.

Finally, something like a charm seemed to settle over the circular room, which smelled to Draco of ink, parchment, and shoe polish. The man at the huge podium before him, his face worn and withered and his small, beady black eyes unyielding, folded his leathery hands and stared down at Draco as he addressed everyone else.

"Today we continue to trial of one young Draco Malfoy in his crimes against the Ministry of Magic, and his role in the murder of several innocent wizards and witches that occurred during the war." There was a buzz of conversation that alighted amongst the others, and though Draco tried to block it out, he couldn't help but catch a few key words such as "…has to be guilty!" and "coward… he even left his poor mother! Don't know what's going to happen to her now…" Draco flinched slightly at this one, but remained silent.

The old wizard raised his hands, and the conversations ceased. He picked up a pair of old glasses and set them on his crooked nose, looking down it at a piece of parchment.

"Now, to call the first to testify in favor of Draco Malfoy… Harry Potter." There was a large gasp, and Draco's eyes widened beyond belief. What the bloody hell? He couldn't believe it—he thought he'd gone utterly mad, or the old man was dyslexic and had read the wrong name. But despite this, the door opened behind him and in walked the Boy-Who-Lived himself.

Draco stared at him disbelievingly, not realizing or caring that he probably looked like an idiot. Harry didn't look at him, but he nodded to the man standing at the podium and came to stand beside Draco. Draco forced a snarl.

"What are you doing here, Potter?" he hissed under his breath. Harry didn't respond except for a small glance at him, and Draco was forced to wonder, _what the hell is he doing here?_

"Mr. Potter," the old man greeted, bowing his head a little. Harry returned the gesture.

"Sir."

"You are here to speak on Mr. Malfoy's behalf, is that correct?"

"Yes sir."

"Very well. Proceed." Draco practically held his breath. All eyes in the room were attached to Harry, and Draco peeked at him from the corner of his eye, under his bangs.

This was all some bad prank, right? To get Draco back for all the times he'd teased Harry and his friends, or all of the horrible things he'd done? Draco swallowed and tried to push out this frame of mind; he was spiraling, his mind growing darker—he could feel it. Soon he would be absorbed. He couldn't help but wonder if this was what his mother had gone through.

"Sir," Harry started, before turning to everyone else and nodding in greeting, "everyone… I know that Draco has a Dark Mark on his arm- I have seen it, and so have others. I know Draco's family was under control of Death-eaters, and his father was in fact loyal to Voldemort." Draco flinched at this and hissed.

"You're not helping, Potter. Why don't you just leave?" Harry glanced at him again but continued, and Draco wondered at him again. What the hell?

"But I don't believe that any of that was Draco's fault," he continued, meeting the eyes of almost everyone in the room. He had their complete attention, and Draco again couldn't help but feel that old pierce of envy. Harry went on.

"He was a victim of circumstance. His entire family was under Voldemort's control—if any of them did anything wrong, they would die. Now, all of us I'm sure would do whatever it took to keep our loved ones safe. Yes, Draco let Death-eaters into Hogwarts. He was given the task to kill Dumbledore. But he didn't do it, and I don't think he ever wanted to. Draco shouldn't be punished for his father's poor choices, because his father made wrong decisions that put Draco in that kind of position."

There was a term of silence. Draco's hands curled, and he stared at the bones almost visible through the paper-white skin. There was no way. Harry was charismatic, sure—he had the power to win over almost anyone. That was part of the reason Draco envied him as much as he did. But there was no way—after everything that had happened, everything that he did, that anyone could pardon him.

"Very well," the ancient wizard said after this bout of silence, dipping his head toward Harry, "We thank you for your appearance here, and for your place in the war. But there are other things to consider. We have had no occurrences where someone has told us what happened whilst Draco was away with his family at Malfoy manor. He could have very well killed a number of people for all we know, and he himself refuses to say anything on the subject. We need a witness of any of those events to give any thought of pardoning Mr. Malfoy."

Despite all of his tries at keeping his hopes down, Draco felt his heart sink even lower and ache even deeper. Harry took a step forward and started to protest.

"But sir, I-"

"I believe I can help you with that." Everyone turned towards the source of the dreamy voice, and Draco's eyes widened as he recognized it and whipped around, though he couldn't move much due to the chains cutting into his bony wrists.

Standing in the doorway, her head slightly tilted and a complacent smile on her lips was none other than Luna Lovegood. Her messy blonde curls spilled over her shoulders and down her back, and her pretty blue eyes observed everyone in the room evenly, obviously unperturbed by the fact that all attention was on her.

"Hello, Harry," she greeted once she caught sight of the boy, who stared at her.

"Luna!" Her eyes finally found Malfoy's, who was gaping at her. She continued to smile at him with the same calm expression. Just then the old man on the podium coughed, drawing attention back to him.

"And who might you be?" Luna's smile widened by a fraction as she came to stand by directly beside Draco, Harry on her other side.

"Luna Lovegood," she answered breezily. The old man shifted his glasses and leaned forward slightly.

"And you say you witnessed things that happened at Malfoy manor while Mr. Malfoy was away for his seventh year? Do you have any proof of this?"

"Oh, yes," Luna answered, neither her smile nor face changing a bit as she began to sway, "After all, I was a prisoner in his basement."


	2. First Witness: Luna Lovegood

There was yet another collective gasp. The old man on the podium turned his beady black eyes on Draco.

"Is this true?" Draco hesitated, glancing at Luna, who continued to smile at the old man, before turning back and nodding. The old man then turned to Luna and nodded.

"Very well, Ms. Lovegood. Do proceed." Luna's smile continued to stay, and Draco wondered if it ever hurt her face, or if her lips were simply stuck like that.

"Very well, thank you," she said, "I think it would be best to tell you what happened while I was at the manor, should I? There are certain things I know Draco wouldn't want me to tell you, since he made me promise not to tell anyone, but I think the situation calls for it, don't you?" This question was appointed to Draco, who gave her a slight, weak glare.

"You'd better not, Lovegood," he growled lowly, though several people caught it.

"You'll thank me later, Draco," she assured him, smiling. Always bloody smiling. Draco continued to glare before letting out a breath, too tired to be a sigh, and ducking his head once again. Luna smiled and turned back to the old man, taking this as a cue to move on.

"Alright," she started again, "I'll start at when I first came to the manor. A few Death-eaters caught me and brought me there, and it wasn't very pleasant, you know. There certainly was a large amount of blood…"

* * *

_Luna's bare feet touched the floor lightly. A man in a skull mask and dark black robes had a painfully tight grip on her right arm, and the other to her left held on to her wand. In front of her stood a woman she instantly recognized; Bellatrix Lestrange. Her dark hair was curled and piled atop her head in a crazy pony tail, her face white and black makeup smudged a bit around her merciless black eyes. Bellatrix smiled crookedly at the younger girl, stepping a bit closer._

"_Well, well, well, if it isn't that old coot's daughter… Loony, was it?"_

"_Luna," she answered shortly. Her smile wasn't present at the moment, her eyes a little more acute than usual. Bellatrix cackled before running a few skeletal fingers along the side of Luna's face._

"_Right," she drew out, fiddling with a lock of her hair before dropping it and smirking, "Now what fun we'll have with you, eh? Where's Harry Potter?"_

"_I haven't the slightest idea," Luna answered breezily, smiling a bit at the mention of her friend. Bellatrix's smile dropped a bit, her eyes hardening. She pointed her crooked wand in the girl's face, so close Luna had to cross her eyes to look at it._

"_Don't toy with me, girl," she snapped, "and what are you so happy about? Wipe that smile off your face!" Instead, Luna's smile widened slightly, and she looked away at the walls, which had a few family pictures of unknown people on them as she responded to the obviously rhetorical question._

"_Harry is our hope," she said, turning back to Bellatrix, still smiling, "Nothing you can do can take that away. Harry will win. I don't know where he is, but wherever he is, I'm certain he's finding a way to take down You-Know-Who. And he'll do it, too." Bellatrix snarled and began to raise her wand._

"_Why you stupid, arrogant little-"_

"_Bell!" The woman turned, as did Luna, to see a woman with long, straight dark hair with streaks of white in it standing with her arms crossed. She was shaking slightly, but her face was stern._

"_Please, have a little more self control," she whispered harshly, "I will not have any more blood on my carpet." Bellatrix snarled and walked up to her, standing inches from her. She leaned forward to that her lips brushed the other woman's ear._

"_Like you have a choice." The other woman was still, and Bellatrix turned to the Death- eaters holding Luna and jutted her chin out at them sharply._

"_Take her to the cellar. Give the wand to Draco, and when you find him, tell him to give the prisoners their food."_

"_Bella-" the other woman warned, and Luna pretended not to listen as the Death-eater gripping her arm began to shove her past, down a hall in front of her._

"_We're in a war, Cissy. It's about time you realized you can't protect your little Drakey anymore. Of course, being you, you never could." The voices of the two witches faded as The Death-eater lead her- well, more dragged her- towards a door at the end of the hall. Once he opened it, he lit the tip of his wand and began to follow her down a set of rickety stairs. _

_The other Death-eater with her wand had disappeared already. At the bottom of the stairs, the Death-eater unlocked an iron gate and shoved her inside before slamming it shut and locking it again. Without a word, he went back up the stairs, taking the sickly light of his lumos and leaving her in pitch black._

* * *

"And in all this time, Ms. Lovegood," the old man began, "Did you ever actually see Mr. Draco?" Luna smiled and rose up a bit on her feet before dropping back down.

"Oh yes, I was just getting to that."

* * *

_Luna sat in the dark for who knows how long. Olivander was nice, but he was old and hurt, so he wasn't much comfort. At the moment he was asleep under a thin, torn blanket. Luna sat wondering about her father and friends when suddenly she heard a creak and rose. A faint light lead her back to the iron gate and she spotted someone just as they closed the gate behind them.. His eyes lifted and met hers, and it was only then that Luna recognized the person as Draco Malfoy._

_ He looked a lot worse than when she'd last saw him; they hadn't known each other very well while at Hogwarts other than when she occasionally saw him in the hall, or he jeered at her with his friends._

* * *

"In all that time at Hogwarts, did Mr. Malfoy ever physically assault or attempt to harm you in any way?" the old man interrupted again. Luna blinked.

"No, I would have remembered if he did something like that," she said simply, and went on.

* * *

_ His face was extremely pale, even more so in the poor blue light from his wand, and he looked almost twice as skinny as she'd last seen him; his suit fit on him loosely, and his usually nice, oiled blonde hair was in slight disarray. His silver eyes were slightly darkened and had a haunted look to them. Luna tilted her head at him._

_ "Hello, Draco Malfoy." His eyes widened at the sight of her._

_ "Loony Love- er, Luna Lovegood. They got you too…" Luna tilted her head again._

_ "You don't seem very happy about it." Draco shook his head, as if shaking away his shock, and gave a small snarl, though it was lacking from what it was usually when they were in school._

_ "You think I would be?" he hissed. Luna gave a small shrug, her eyes straying from him to the walls._

_ "That woman Bellatrix seemed very happy about it." Draco's face twisted in disgust._

_ "Yeah, well she's insane." He seemed about to say something else, but refrained. Luna turned back to him and smiled._

_ "I'm not crazy like her, Draco. You know that. But neither are you." Draco scoffed again, avoiding her eyes. He set the silver tray holding two bowls of what looked like slosh in them on the ground and swiftly turned._

_ "You don't know anything about me, Lovegood." He started for the gate and was halfway out when Luna called out to him._

_ "No, but I would very much like to." Draco paused before continuing, the blue light snapping out into pitch black again and the iron gate slamming shut._

* * *

__I would appreciate reviews and critiques.


	3. First Witness: Luna Lovegood, Continued

Warning: Cursing

Thank you for the reviews.

* * *

"The next few days I didn't see him much, and I don't really like to relive them," Luna said thoughtfully, her face almost seeming to darken for a split second before it disappeared, leaving the majority of the room to wonder if it had been real or just a trick of the lighting, "Ms. Bellatrix sure had some interesting… hobbies. But, of course, I didn't tell her anything. Not that I could have, anyway."

"And did Draco ever participate in these… events?" the old man asked, glancing at the young man in shackles next to her. Luna glanced at Draco also, a small, complacent smile.

"No." A scribble. A nod. Luna continued.

* * *

_Luna sat on the hard ground, nursing a particularly painful wound on her wrist, just above the veins. She had just gotten done with another 'interrogation' with Bellatrix, and her cut was still bleeding profusely. Luna didn't think Bellatrix would want her dead, but if she didn't stop the bleeding, she might just die before Bellatrix could call for her again. Olivander lay sleeping again, shaking slightly in his sleep. Just then the gate creaked open and Luna rose carefully, moving toward the faint blue light._

_ There was Draco again, a tray in his hand and a solemn look on his face. He didn't look at her as he set the tray on the ground, and Luna strayed closer, her hand clamped over the wound on her arm in an effort to stop the bleeding._

_ "How are you today, Draco?" Draco snarled and his head snapped up to her, ready to say something rude, but then his eyes caught on her hand on her arm, where blood had seeped through her fingers and stained her shirt. He looked uneasy for a moment._

_ "It's nothing to worry about, really," Luna assured him lightly, "Though it is bleeding quite a lot. I don't think she meant to do it so harshly, but then again, I never can tell with her. She has a very unique mind, you know." Draco hissed and stepped towards her, and at first she though he was going to hit her. Instead he grabbed her elbow, pulling her hand off the wound. Luna watched him carefully as he observed it, a scowl on his face._

_ "Bellatrix is a lot of things, but unique isn't exactly at the top of the list. That'd be more psychotic, or sadistic, mad." Draco lowered the tip of his wand to the edge of her wound and muttered an incantation, drawing the tip of his wand over the cut as he said it. As she watched, Luna's injury started to knit itself together, leaving a thin white line. Luna blinked and looked back up at Draco._

_ "Do you have any others? Serious ones? I can't take any of them completely away." Luna nodded and rolled up her pant leg, where a huge, nasty purple bruise grew painfully on the majority of her calf. Draco knelt and placed the tip of his wand to the center of it, muttering another incantation under his breath. The purple started to fade, and when he brought his wand back, the bruise was a bit smaller, so that the change would be unnoticeable to anyone else, and it was a greenish-yellow color._

* * *

"Ms. Lovegood…" Luna halted her story and stared at the older man unblinkingly, "Do you have any leftover marks from this as proof, such as a scar or something of the like?" Without a word, Luna rolled up the sleeve of her robe on her right arm, and Draco watched her out of the corner of his eye.

Once he caught sight of the long, thin scar running across her arm, though, he immediately looked away. Harry caught this, and it was silent as the old man scribbled something in his book. Once done, he placed his quill down and nodded to Luna, who was already pulling her sleeve back down.

"You may continue, Ms. Lovegood."

* * *

_Draco pulled away and stood as Luna observed him curiously._

"_Don't tell anyone about this, alright?" he asked in a hushed tone, glancing around worriedly. Luna tilted her head._

"_Don't worry, I won't, Draco." Draco nodded a bit, now seeming more lost in his own thoughts than anything else. He quickly turned and hurried back towards the gate, and at the last minute, Luna called out to him._

"_Oh, and Draco… Thank you." He paused a moment before opening the gate, locking it and disappearing upstairs, taking the light with him and leaving Luna once again in a world of darkness._

* * *

"Mr. Malfoy, can you confirm that these occurrences happened?" Everyone turned to him, and he glanced at Luna, who smiled, before nodding.

"Yes. Um, yes sir." Nod. Scribble. Another nod.

"Proceed, Ms. Lovegood."

* * *

_It was a while—she wasn't exactly sure how long, and any time she asked someone, it wasn't received lightly—until Draco came back again. When he did, he looked even more haggard than usual, moving sluggishly with deep, dark bags under his eyes. Luna tilted her head and drifted closer than usual as he set the tray on the ground. She could tell he was tired when he didn't even attempt to push her away when she raised a hand and laid it lightly against his sunken cheek._

_ "Are you alright, Draco?" she asked, "You don't seem like you've slept in quite a while." Draco attempted to brush her hand away, scowling._

_ "I'm fine, what's it to you?" It was rhetorical, but Luna answered anyway._

_ "I care for your health, Draco," she said, blinking, "Why wouldn't I?" He leaned forward, those silver eyes piercing hers as he snarled._

_ "Because I'm keeping you fucking captive in my bloody house, Lovegood!" Luna simply watched as Draco ran a hand over his face, looking ghostly pale, more so than even she._

"_You should sit down," she advised lightly, "It's not good to stand when you're this tired, otherwise you might fall and hit your head. Then the Nargles will come after you when you're disoriented."_

* * *

"Nargles?" the judge interrupted incredulously. Luna was about to give what was no doubt a long story on the history of Nargles before someone whispered in the judge's ear, and he nodded. There was another scribble, and Draco shook his head. The judge nodded to Luna, and the smile that had slightly fallen from her face lit up once again.

* * *

_Draco glanced at the gate worriedly, before nodding and slowly lowering himself against the wall. Luna drifted next to him as he rested his head back and closed his eyes, watching curiously as exhaustion took over. Luna wondered what he was so tired from, but didn't have the chance to ask before he had fallen asleep. She simply sat beside him, humming a little tune she'd heard while watching a muggle TV show once. She was the only wizard she knew that owned a muggle television. A lot of people didn't like them, surprisingly most of them muggles, but—_

* * *

"Luna," Harry and Draco both said at the same time, causing Harry to look at him surprised and Draco to glare. Luna blinked in surprise, remembering where she was.

"Oh yes, thank you," she started again with a small smile, "as I was saying…"

* * *

_There was no way to tell how long Draco was sleeping for, but it felt like a long time. Luna's tail bone and back were starting to hurt, but she didn't move, as Draco had come to lean heavily on her in his sleep. Eventually, though, Luna nudged him lightly, and had to do it three more times, each harder than the last, until he finally jerked upright, blinking bleary eyes and stretching. Luna smiled._

_ "I'm sorry to wake you, but I don't want you to get in trouble for being down here too long." Draco nodded a bit and began to stand, Luna following. He hesitated, rubbing the back of his neck and glancing towards where Olivander's form lay, breathing slowly but steadily. Finally he turned back to her, looking sheepish._

* * *

"I don't look sheepish," Draco muttered, sending a glare the girl's way. The old man at the podium gave him a warning look, and Luna's smile simply widened as she went on.

* * *

_ "Thanks," he said hurriedly, as if afraid someone else would hear him. Luna smiled._

"_You're welcome, Draco." He hesitated, glancing back at the gate. Luna tilted her head at him._

_ "Are you scared?" Draco froze, something dark crossing over his face. Luna took a small step forward._

_ "Are you scared of your aunt?" she asked, watching as Draco's face darkened and contorted again, "Or of your parents? Or the DeathEaters? Or Volde—" a hand clamped hard over her mouth, and silver eyes pierced hers._

_ "Don't," he whispered harshly from inches away, his grip on her jaw tightening, "Don't say his name." Luna nodded slowly, and after a moment Draco released her, breathing a sigh of relief. Luna observed him curiously._

_ "It's strange," she started, "that you still can't say or hear his name, but your family works for him. They do his bidding in your house." Her gaze traveled from him to the walls as she said this, though she could feel his eyes on her. She finally turned back to him and he turned away._

_ "I don't…" he said faintly, before hesitating. Finally he shook his head. "I have to go." Before he could turn and leave, Luna caught his sleeve and he looked back, surprised._

_ "Make sure you get some sleep, Draco," she told him, eyes boring into him meaningfully. Draco swallowed and pulled away, not giving a response before he disappeared through the gate._

* * *

"Ms. Lovegood…" Luna blinked expectantly, and the judge went on, "You say he fell asleep for an immeasurable amount of time… I'm assuming he had a wand at the time?"

"Yes," Luna answered lightly. The man leaned forward.

"Then why didn't you take it while he was sleeping? You could have used him as a bargaining tool, or simply Apparated out." There was a murmur that rippled through the court room, and Draco felt like sinking into the ground, feeling like an idiot. Harry waited for the answer, though he was pretty sure he already knew what it was.

"I could never hurt Draco," Luna said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, "And I doubt I could have gotten out on my own—the basement was enchanted so that no one could Apparate in or out. Besides, I knew Harry would come for us." She smiled at this, and Harry exchanged it, while Draco scowled.

"Very well, Ms. Lovegood," the old man stated, drawing the room's attention once again, "Mr. Malfoy, can you confirm these occurrences happened?" Draco scowled a bit before nodding.

"Yes sir."

"Ms. Lovegood, you may proceed." Luna tilted her head a bit in thought.

"Well, I saw Draco in the manor a few times after that," she said airily, "But there was really only one instance that I think might help." Immediately Draco tensed.

"Don't you dare." Luna turned to him, seeming less surprised than Harry was at the threatening tone in Draco's voice.

"I swear, don't you dare, Lovegood," he hissed, giving her a deadly glare even beyond the disheveled and pathetic appearance. Luna's eyes softened a bit, though it was hard to tell through their seemingly permanent, dreamy look.

"I have to, Draco," she told him quietly, "It might save you." Draco snarled.

"I don't want your help, Lovegood, I never asked for it! Just get out of here!"

"Mr. Malfoy," the judge cut in, his thick eyebrows furrowing, "If this young lady is willing to help set you free in any way, it makes no sense for you to turn it away—"

"I don't need anyone's pity, especially not yours," he snapped, pointing the last point of the sentence to Luna, though his eyes flickered and met Harry's for a brief second. Harry wish he could say he wasn't surprised; they'd always been some sort of rivals, and Draco was extremely proud. Now to have this… whatever it was aired in front of a room full of people he either knew or hated, Harry could actually understand somewhat why he was fighting it so hard.

"Who would pity _you_?" Someone shouted from the crowd. There was a murmur of agreement and disagreement, and arguments broke out along the court room. The old man on the podium slammed his gavel three times, hard, and the conversations ceased, others dying off quietly.

"Fine," Draco hissed, "Tell your bloody goddamn story. Just don't expect me to not hate you, Lovegood." Luna smiled happily despite the menacing tone.

"Alright, Draco." All eyes on the small blonde girl in the middle of the room, the judge nodded for her to begin the story.

* * *

Coming up: A house elf and a surprising moment from the manor.

Reviews are appreciated. Thank you for reading.


	4. In the Manor

Warning: Cursing, slight angst. Thank you for the reviews.

In the Manor:

* * *

Luna sat curled up in the dark, quietly humming to herself. Olivander was holed up in his corner under a thin blanket, asleep. His steady breathing kept her calm, although occasionally it would sputter when he coughed or muttered something in his sleep. Luna couldn't help but think back to all of her encounters with Draco, both in the manor and out. At school, he'd been one of the boys to steal her shoes or call her a Muggle-lover or 'Loony Lovegood'. Luna hadn't minded, but something about him had piqued her interest, particularly in their previous year.

Draco had always been followed by those two large boys, something along the lines of Crab and Boyle, but that year, he'd barely been around anyone. He'd kept to himself, and that was when, Luna realized, he'd started losing weight and turning paler. Luna had found herself watching him at lunch, looking to see if he ate anything, and each time she saw him eat nothing. Only later had she found out what was actually going on, and why he'd been so on-edge.

He was a DeathEater.

It was no surprise, really, with his family being under Voldemort's control. But it still disappointed Luna, slightly. Was she the only one who wondered what Draco really wanted? Surely not. From her reaction when Luna first came to the manor, Draco's mother seemed to care a great deal about him. But that didn't change the fact that Draco was now also under Voldemort's control. Luna briefly wondered if he'd killed anyone before wiping it out of his mind.

She'd heard the story; he hadn't killed Dumbledore, so Snape had done it instead. Luna saw a lot of things when she looked at Draco—arrogant, judging, cocky, but also insecurity, loneliness, fear. Out of the many things she saw in Draco, a killer wasn't one of them. As she mulled over these thoughts, she almost didn't realize someone had come through the gate until a clatter and curses jolted her from her thoughts.

Luna rose and moved steadily towards the noise and found Draco crouched, trying to salvage the bowls he'd dropped from the tray. She tilted her head as she watched him in the low, blue light. Something was… off. The way he moved, the way he cursed under his breath, then tense muscles in his back…

"Draco?" There was another loud curse and Draco shot up, tray in one hand and wand clutched tightly in the other.

"What, Lovegood?" he spat venomously at her. Luna remained unperturbed, if not a little worried.

"Are you alright, Draco?" Draco's eyes blazed angrily and he took a few steps towards her, his wand raised slightly.

"Alright? Do I look alright, you bloody Loon?" he hissed in her face. Luna blinked.

"You haven't slept, have you?" Draco sent the tray slamming against the opposite wall loudly, and Luna briefly wondered if it had woken Olivander before she was forced to focus on the seething boy in front of her.

"No, I haven't bloody fucking slept! You expect me to _sleep_ in this hellhole? When my sheets are being used to mop up blood off the _fucking ceilings_?" Luna wasn't completely sure if he was exaggerating or not, but decided not to comment either way.

"What happened, Draco?" Draco's eyes blazed, and with his blond hair disheveled and cheeks sunken from lack of food, he looked closer to being insane than she ever could.

"What the bloody hell do you mean what happened? They killed _another_ person in my bloody house, right in my living room! My aunt's still _fucking laughing_ about it!" Luna looked at the ceiling, as if she would be able to see through it to the room he was talking about.

"Who was it?" she asked quietly. Draco seemed to calm down enough to realize what it meant to her and sighed.

"No one you know, Lovegood." Luna blinked and her eyes drifted from the ceiling back down to him.

"Do you know their name?" Draco hissed.

"What the bloody hell does it matter, Lovegood? They're dead! There's nothing we can do to change that!" Luna's eyes leveled on his.

"We can remember them," she stated, still in that dreamy voice of hers, before her eyes started to travel the walls absentmindedly, "You know, my mother died when I was very young. She is dead, and I can't bring her back, but I remember her. I think of her every day, even when sometimes it hurts to, because I owe her that much." Her eyes drifted back to Draco, whose face was hidden by his blonde bangs. It was silent for a moment, and Draco swallowed. Luna waited.

"H-Her name… I think… I think it was Renaee… Renaee Wolkins. S-She was a Muggle born." Luna noted the change in choice of words, but again chose to pretend she hadn't heard. She was about to speak, but Draco wasn't done.

"S-She… she was twenty something, I think… I heard Bellatrix… Twenty fucking years old…" Luna watched him.

"It wasn't your fault, Draco."

Her back slammed against the wall and there was a wand tip pointed in her face so fast she let out a gasp of surprise. Draco gripped her throat with his free hand, his eyes glaring into hers, inches away, his short, angered breath on her lips.

"Not my fault, Lovegood?" he started deadly quiet, and then roared, "All of this is my bloody fault!" Luna observed him for a moment. Then, slowly, she raised a hand to his cheek. His eyes widened as she stroked his cheek, as if she didn't even notice the wand pointed directly at her face of the harsh grip he had on her throat.

"Draco…" she pulled her hand away, rubbing her fingertips together, "You're crying." Draco's eyes widened even more and he pulled his hand away from her throat to wipe his face, where indeed, tears had begun streaking from his eyes unknowingly. Luna watched him try to brush furiously at his tears before she reached out and grabbed his wrists gently, and he met her eyes again. A dam somewhere broke and a choked sob ripped through his throat. Luna caught him as he collapsed into her, though she couldn't stop them from sinking to the floor, landing hard on her rear.

Draco's face was buried in her shoulder, and Luna stroked his hair caringly, which only made him cry harder. He'd been starved of touch for so long, Luna suddenly realized, No one had given him so much as a passing pat, had they?

No one had given him a touch or word of encouragement, telling him that they love him, or cared, or he did a good job. Luna found herself murmuring things, sweet things, saying his name a couple times just so he could hear it in a caring tone.

Not pitying, not condescending or scolding; simply caring. He cried and cried into her shoulder, his body racked with sobs. This was so different from the Draco Luna had seen previously, and not even simply the angry version from just minutes ago. This Draco was new, alone, and broken.

Luna held him tighter around the shoulders, still murmuring and whispering in his ear. Again she wondered if they had awoken Olivander, but decided that if they had, he wouldn't think of disturbing them. The boy in her arms finally began to quiet down, sniffling and rubbing his face with his sleeve, no doubt embarrassed.

Luna pushed him away slightly by the shoulders, just enough to see his face, and left her hands there. His cheeks and eyes were completely red, and he avoided her eyes. Luna brushed some locks of platinum blonde hair from his face, faintly illuminated by the still lit wand that now lay forgotten on the ground, and Draco finally looked up at her. They stared for a moment before he dropped his eyes ashamedly.

"Draco," she spoke quietly, before he had the chance to pull away and leave. He glanced at her, a defensive look on his face, but remained silent for her to continue. She watched thoughtfully.

"Have you ever killed anyone?" Fresh tears renewed the sores of his eyes and he looked away. Luna leaned forward slightly, tightening her grip on his shoulders so that he wouldn't push her away.

"Have you?" Draco sniffed and shook his head. Luna felt part of her that she hadn't known tensed up relax. She gave a small smile and nodded.

"That doesn't mean anything." His voice was hoarse, and he swallowed, glancing at her, his eyes dark, "They'll make me. I'm one of them now. I'll have to… I'll have to do it one day. Maybe even soon." Luna shook her head and rubbed his arm.

"You'll never be one of them, Draco." Draco's head snapped to her and he snarled.

"Don't you get it, you loon? I'm already one of them! Do you need proof?" His shirt sleeve was suddenly up, and when Luna's eyes alighted over his wrist, she gasped. Draco's eyes widened as he realized his mistake, and immediately shoved his sleeve back down and began to pull away. Surprisingly, and with great strength, Luna grabbed his arm and the back of his neck and yanked him back down, immediately taking his wrist while he caught himself on the ground and shoving his sleeve back up.

Her eyes widened once again, her lips parted, as her fingers slid over his wrist, taking in the bumpy, jagged surface. The area of the Dark Mark was almost completely raw and red, with deep, jagged scars, haggard lines, and long, black lines. It made Luna cringe to think of how painful each scar had to have been.

"What happened?" she asked, her quiet voice filled with awe. Draco stuttered, avoiding looking at her though her eyes were glued to his wrist, anyway.

"T-There was a mistake when they made it… It was an accident," he lied. They both knew she could see right through it. She ran her smooth fingers over the abused area again.

"You were trying to get rid of it." Her voice was still filled with awe, but it obviously wasn't a question. Draco forced a snarl and jerked his hand away, yanking his sleeve down again.

"Yeah, so what, I tried to get rid of it," he hissed quietly, sending a frightened look towards the gate. Luna blinked her large blue eyes at him, before, suddenly, they softened.

"You really didn't want this, did you?" The question stopped him. He froze for a moment. It almost seemed as if he were a statue, though Luna could see the inner struggle through the mound of tears he was forcing from falling down.

"Your family is under his control," Luna said quietly, carefully tip-toeing around Voldemort's name only for him, "Your father has always been his servant. He's taught you what he knows, and you've learned from him. You learned that everyone was below you. That you could only get power through fear, like V—like he had." Something clicked with her.

"That's why you were such a bully in school," she spoke, watching Draco's struggling face carefully as she made her own realizations, "And then you couldn't understand how Harry was so loved, when no one feared him. No one… except you." One tear escaped, as did a whimper Luna didn't notice. He moved beside her, sitting against the wall, pressing his back into it to calm the onslaught of emotions. His body wracked with sobs, but he refused to let any of them make a sound.

Luna sat beside him silently, her own heart aching quietly for him. After a few moments he spoke, his glassy eyes staring straight ahead.

"I'm weak," he whispered, "People don't think I know how pathetic I am, but I do. I know more than any of them. Because I can hear my own thoughts. I can hear what I think and how much of a coward I am and how I complain that there's nothing I can do about it." The rant had gained volume, and he finished through gritted teeth, taking a deep breath, attempting to gain his composure.

"I tried. I tried so hard to make him proud. I hate him," he hissed with venom, new tears hard in his eyes, "I hate his guts. I just wish…" He took another breath. Clenched and unclenched his pale hands.

"I love my mom," he said, switching gears. Luna listened, "My dad was an idiot and a wimp. I just wanted to protect her. My dad didn't deserve her. I didn't either." Draco glared at his knees that were drawn to his chest.

"Because whatever I did… Whatever I try to do… I can't help it. I'm exactly like him." Luna shook her head, a small smile curling onto her face.

"No you're not." His head whipped towards her, and he glared.

"Are you not even listening to me? I'm exactly like my father!" he growled, his face a mixture of incredulity and anger. Luna nodded and turned to him, smiling.

"I'm listening, Draco. Excuse me for saying so, but… you're an idiot." A dumbstruck look graced his face, and Luna surprisingly fell into a fit of giggles. This made the look of astonishment increase, and she laughed harder.

The shock and confusion quickly turned to rage, and then they were back, his hand around her throat, the other pointing his wand directly at her nose.

"You dare make fun of me, Lovegood—" he hissed, but Luna cut him off with a smile and shake of the head.

"I'm not making fun of you, Draco," she said lightly, still smiling, "It's just strange how you can be so blind. Your father is evil. He chose to become a DeathEater, Draco, and he forced you into it. You try to make things right, and he stays by Vol—his side. You're completely different, Draco." Draco shook his head, stuttering. Luna watched him quietly, a smile still present on her face. He stared at her for a minute, before leaning forward and glaring.

"Promise me you won't tell anyone about this," he whispered urgently, his still wet eyes pouring into hers. Luna smiled and nodded.

"I promise, Draco." Draco stared at her a moment longer before nodding and began pulling away. Before he could, though, Luna once again grabbed his arm, making him look at her in surprise.

"You should promise me something too, Draco," she told him. He frowned, and her smooth fingers slipped up his shirt sleeve to run over the rough patch of skin on his wrist.

"Promise me you won't try to get rid of it again, Draco. You could hurt yourself badly." Draco seemed to hesitate before pulling away completely, his eyes dropping from hers once he was standing. He moved away, using his wand to fix the mess he'd made with their food and filled the bowls with something from the tip of his wand. Once he was done, he set it on the ground and glanced over his shoulder at her.

"I can't promise you that, Lovegood." With that, he was gone, and Luna's heart dropped a bit. After a few moments she stood, daintily making her way over to the bowls. They were filled almost to the brim with steaming soup, something Luna hadn't had in a long time, and she smiled. She glanced once at the gate, her smile dropping just a bit, before starting back to wake Olivander.

* * *

Coming next: Proof, anger, and a new witness.


End file.
